Bull's street "go-kart" build

Installed the plug for the rear wiper delete along with the Ford logo for the rear hatch. For some reason, I couldn't find any US based sellers with this type of plug, so ended up buying one from a GB based shop and waited a couple of weeks.

Had Whoosh store credit for sending in my stock turbo and manifold, so ended up getting a couple of cosmetic mods in addition to some supplies for the eventual clutch job. Ford Performance CF shift knob feels better than the stock one and goes along with the CF hood and hatch. I wasn't a fan of the giant antenna and the 2" stubby one looks so much better. I wasn't crazy about the shiny lettering but some wiping some Ultra Black RTV silicone gasket maker on it took care of that.

I bought a very lightly used Spec aluminum flywheel (SMF) and Stage 2 clutch (sprung) from a forum member some time ago at less than half price, just in case I wanted to play around with a lightweight SMF setup in the future. Did some research and found that people are divided into two groups regarding LW SMFs; ones that love it and others that hate it for street driving and/or had transmission issues soon after the swap. I even have friends that are brothers and one of them loves his LW SMF setup, while the other dislikes it.

Anyhow, I was practicing flat foot shifting and must've messed up badly as, instead of accelerating faster while maintaining boost, I felt the clutching slipping badly with a nasty burning clutch smell. The clutch seemed mostly OK after cooling off, but I noticed later that it started to slip when boosting in higher gears. Upgrading tires just exasperated the issue. Since I was on a borrowed time, I took this as a sign to try the LW SMF setup to further enhance that "go-kart" feeling. The plan was that, if I ended up hating it, swap it to a new OEM DMF and clutch. If I love it but end up with transmission issues, go with a Clark rebuilt unit with carbon synchros and LSD. As I don't have a lift nor a knowledgeable second-pair of hands to assist me, I outsourced the job to my friends with a shop and lift while I was on a vacation. I heard about bad experiences with new OEM slave cylinders so decided to go with the RTS CSC unit and also swapped out the old axle seals that were sweeping fluid.

First driving impression was great. New clutch feels a little “grabbier” than stock, but otherwise, was easy to operate. Throttle response was noticeably improved on the acceleration, and engine stops spinning quicker when I turned the ignition off. My friends' friend was also there, so I asked him to do a test drive to get his opinion, and his impression was the same as mine. I had to get wheels realigned as the 4-point brace and LCAs had to be disconnected from spindles as part of the job. Even the alignment tech (who didn't know about the FW swap), who remembered the car from previous alignments, commented on how it seems to take off quicker now. I told him about the FW swap and asked him if the clutch was harder to operate, and he didn't even noticed it. Added bonus is that this shaves off about 13 pounds from the front on a front-heavy car.

I have AWR PSMM and TMM, and Cobb RMM, along with stiffer bushings for about everything, so the car has more vibration than stock. Maybe because I'm NVH insensitive but I didn't feel any extra vibration or noise after the swap. The rev-hang kept the RPM up between shifts and shifting felt the same as before the swap. I will post updates here if I notice something else or an issue develops later. The next plan is to upgrade the HPFP and injectors to go E50+ once I run out of WMI mixture to max out the stock block and see if Spec Stage 2 clutch can handle it.

Below are pictures of the old flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate. They looked about as bad as I pictured them to be.

Saw a post on a FB group about using Weatherseal to fill in the gap around headlights and decided to try it out myself. I'd say it turned out pretty well.

The car recently started throwing code for a evap system small leak. I'm not too surprised as I reused the OEM tubing using a heat gun when I replaced the purge valve a while back, which likely loosened up enough to cause a small leak. My original plan was to replace the tubing with silicon hoses but I wanted to do an experiment with it first.

Replaced the firewall to purge valve tubing.


Intake manifold to check valve was the only portion that I kept, to prevent the system from getting pressurized during boost.


I ran the hose straight to the purge valve, getting rid of the T fitting and tubing that goes to the induction hose.


I also removed the tubing that goes from the cold-side pipe to the induction hose. I have a 2016+ style Mountune induction hose, but removing the "T" piece in the picture below turned it into a 2014-15 style means only one port to cap.


Also capped the port on the cold-side pipe. I added a fuel line clamp to make sure it stays put as this cap will experience boost pressure.


Pros:

• Reduces engine bay clutter
• Less points of failure
• Eliminates a small boost leak (by design) from the cold-side pipe to induction hose

Con:

• Purge function will not work while under boost

Since I don't drive in conditions that require extended boosting (e.g. racing or hill climbs), I am hoping that I can avoid triggering any codes with this mod. Nevertheless, I ordered some 3/8" ID check valves to build a 2014-15 style harness if I do run into issues. I have 25 miles so far (also did some max boost runs as a test) on this mod and no issues so far, will post an update if something goes sideways.

Performed a vacuum pump delete to further reduce the rotating mess and under hood clutter. Did some research first and only found one Fiesta specific post but it and posts for other cars stated that there were no issues with the delete and brakes worked fine off of the manifold vacuum. Per the AP, there is around -10 PSI (slight above -20 inHG) of vacuum during idle, and even higher during clutch-in deceleration, so I felt that is enough for the brake booster.

I used the nipple and check valve (circled in the picture) off of the old brake booster to vacuum pump hose. Purchased a new hose and gasket to have in hand in case I need to reinstall the pump.


Removing the vacuum pump was straightforward, and it was replaced by the delete plate from SVT Design Fab.


Ran a 1/4" hose from the brake booster under the induction hose...


... to the check valve, then to a 3/8 X 3/8 X 1/4 tee between the manifold and evap purge valve.


Picture of the engine bay after the delete.


I put about 150 miles of city and highway driving since the mod and brakes feel the same as before. I figured this would save about 1-2 HP at most. But for some reason, car seems to accelerate faster in a noticeable way, and I can even easily break traction on 3rd gear now.

I know this is a recent mod for you, but now after a bit more driving is your opinion on the braking the same? My vacuum line is drawn to the fan so I'm debating the pump delete while redoing the line.

I put about 100 more mile since the post and I'd say brakes still feel the same.